“Occupy Wall Street” protesters weren’t the only group who had a difficult morning thanks to NYPD’s actions in Zuccotti Park.

A number of reporters complained of a media blackout from covering the morning raid. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly confirmed that several journalists were arrested by authorities.

The Associated Press reported that two of their reporters, writer Karen Matthews and photographer Seth Wenig, were taken into custody. The New York Daily News reported that their reporter Matthew Lysiak was also detained. NPR freelance reporter Julie Walker was arrested but indicated she has been released.

A photographer with Agance France Presse, a reporter for The Local East Village, and other journalists were also arrested. Police don’t currently know the exact number of journalists were arrested.

And even hours after the cleanup, reporters like local CW affiliate anchor Debra Alfarone revealed how police still were making it hard for the press, tweeting, “We’ve got kicked out of Zuccotti Park again.”

The human rights organizations PEN American Center and PEN International condemned the restrictions on press coverage as “an obvious abridgement of the First Amendment right of all Americans to monitor official actions that clearly carry their own First Amendment concerns.”

“Whatever the arguments for clearing and cleaning the park, denying the rest of us the opportunity to witness the police action through the independent reporting of a free media simply reinforces the suspicion that the city government is seeking to hide from democratic scrutiny,” said Kwame Anthony Appiah, president of PEN American Center.

About the Author

Andrew Jones is a staff writer/reporter for Raw Story. Besides covering politics, he is also a freelance sports journalist, as well as a slam poetry and music artist. You can follow him on Twitter @sluggahjells.